This is the second and final part of a series on Mojiko, Kitakyushu.

Mojiko’s waterside is a quiet place with a park like atmosphere most notable for its unobstructed view of Shimonoseki across the Kanmon Strait and being a place where you can watch distant over-sized cargo vessels headed for the cargo terminals further down the strait. A century ago the scene was a little different as this is where massive steamers pulled in, arriving from China and Japan’s colonies to offload exotic cargoes such as bananas before heading further up to Kobe and Yokohama, or coming here as the final stop to on load coal before taking it to foreign markets.

The port’s surviving heritage curiously straddles the Taisho era as its association to the Dalian sea route attaches it to the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War and the Second Sino-Japanese War of the 1930s, two events which would shape Japanese and world history.

Dalian Sea Route Warehouse (Moji Customs Warehouse No. 1) The most visible remnant of these days is the Dalian Sea Route Warehouse. Originally Moji Customs Warehouse No. 1, this art deco passenger terminal and customs warehouse was built in 1929 (Showa 4) to accommodate trade with the port of Dalian in Japanese-leased Chinese territory. If the name Dalian doesn’t ring a bell you may recognize it by another name- Port Arthur. Japan had won leasing rights to the peninsula upon which the city sat in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). Threats from Russia, France and Germany caused Japan to relinquish it and it was then given Russia. Japan did not let this insult long stand and after giving Russia a firm thrashing in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), finally gained the lease it had previously won.

Where was I? Right, art deco passenger terminals designed for Chine trade. The building itself is ferroconcrete, which after red brick fell out of fashion was the next big popular construction material. It’s cheaper to make than red brick and also stands up better to earthquakes. Inside the terminal is a utilitarian creative space as these kinds of buildings tend to become. A small free museum shares artifacts from the age of steam and has models of the ships which once called on Moji.

A model that stood out was Brasil Maru, a passenger liner built at Mitsubishi Shipyards Nagasaki for Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK) and commissioned in 1939. (At the same time and shipyard Japan’s second Yamato-class battleship was also under construction.) It plied the Kobe-Dalian route before World War II and in May 1941 she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy for use as an auxiliary transport. During the Battle of Midway she carried troops intended to land on the island once the naval battle was won, but Japan’s loss resulted in a twist of fate for the ship. Having lost four fleet carriers Brasil Maru and Argentina Maru were to be converted into aircraft carriers, but one day after the order was given Brazil Maru was sank by American Gato-class submarine USS Greenling (SS-213) on Aug. 5, 1942. Her sister ship later became the aircraft carrier Kaiyo.

When it was built the warehouse was right on the waterfront but land reclamation has firmly landlocked it. Looking by the road on the warehouse side you’ll see red bollards where ships once tied off. This is the original waterline.

Soldiers Embarkation Memorial and War Horse Watering Place
Besides the civilian passengers and goods that came and went from Dalian, Moji also moved soldiers. According to this memorial more than two million soldiers passed through Moji during World War II (1939-45) and the wars in China beginning in 1931. For many this would be the last piece of Japan they would ever set foot on. Next to it is the remnant of a water trough used to provide fresh water for horses. A million horses requisitioned by the government for military use were sent from Moji to China, none of which came back.

Departing Soldiers Memorial

War Horse Watering Place

Heading north from the central Mojiko Station area across the bridge will take you to the Moji Customs House.

Moji Customs House

The Customs House was completed in 1912 (Meiji 45 / Taisho 1) and is a stock Meiji-era (1868-1912) akarenga (red brick) government building; which is a good thing as these are a rare sight. It was designed by Sakuju Eichi, but supervised by Tsumaki Norimaka, an American and German trained architect who built many government offices. I don’t know these two either, but it’s worth knowing to understand why a simple red brick building would be held in such high regard. Personally, I’m more of a Josiah Conder and Tatsuno Kingo person but I guess I’m just easy blinded by flashy designs that way.

Its construction is also significant because originally Moji customs was a branch of Nagasaki, but by 1901 Moji had surpassed Nagasaki in exports creating the need for a full, independent customs house. Nagasaki had a long history as trading port and during the Edo era it was the only place trade was conducted with the Dutch. It’s telling of how big the new industries of coal and steel had become in modern Japan and also goes back to Nagasaki-based companies like Holme Ringer establishing local branches here.

Reading through the history of the Customs from the official Nagasaki Customs website I found this amusing bit: 1909 Moji Customs becomes independent of Nagasaki Customs. 1953: Nagasaki Customs becomes independent of Moji Customs. Did the Moji branch get so big it absorbed its parent then atrophied and had to spit it back out?

A World War II air raid partially destroyed the building and gutted the interior, which though it’s been rehabilitated also means the inside is not historic save for the brickwork and exposed structural design. A photographic and art exhibition was being held when I visited, so unless you’re into that or need a place to get out of the sun for awhile the Customs House is good for a walk by as you continue on your way.

An interesting parallel between Mojiko and Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture is that they possess rare surviving sister structures and both were involved with coal. Both have a Mitsui Club and a customs house. Only five Meiji era customs houses still stand, though this one barely makes it into the Meiji era as the emperor died half-way through the year.

Dalian Friendship Memorial Library

Adding to the historic architectural grab-bag or melting pot of Mojiko is this late comer. This is a replica of the Toshin Railway and Shipping Co. (Chinese Eastern Railway) Dalian branch which occupies a weird little place in Japanese, Russian and Chinese history. The original Russian railway company started laying down track in Dalian/Port Arthur in that brief span of time between the tripartite intervention and Japan getting its lease back after the Russo-Japanese War and one of the things it put up in that time was a branch office in Dalian/Port Arthur in 1902.
Because of their trade history Dalian and Kitakyushu (Moji is now part of this city) became friendship cities and in 1994 Dalian gifted this replica building to them.
There’s nothing to see inside except a really nice fireplace, but it has air-conditioning and no questions asked what you’re doing there. So there’s that.

Former Nikka Whisky Warehouses (Dairi Shochu Distillery Milling Warehouses)

Our last destination is the old Teikoku (Sapporo) Brewery which is outside of Mojiko in the adjacent (now) ward of Dairi. Along the way we stopped by a row of akarenga warehouses beside the road; there’s not much to do besides look at the building exteriors but I love red brick buildings so had to stop by before seeing more and bigger red brick buildings.
These warehouses were built in 1914 (Taisho 3) as part of the Dairi Shochu Distillery. Originally Kobe’s Suzuki Shoten had established a sugar mill in the area in 1903 before expanding operations. (It didn’t become part of Nikka Whisky until 2006.) It was built here to take advantage of the railroad and shipping; the distillery was put up beside the rail lines which allowed it to quickly and consistently receive large quantities of ingredients and to ship finished product domestically and internationally.

When the Kanmon Railway Tunnel opened in 1942 Dairi or Oosato Station became Moji Station, which between this and the larger, closer Moji Port opening worked in tandem to diminish the importance of what was now renamed Mojiko.

Moji Red Brick Place (Teikoku Brewery & Union Hall)

A little before Dairi began distilling shochu and a little down the railway Suzuki Shoten established Teikoku Bakushu (Imperial Brewing Company). The brewery began operation in 1913 (Taisho 2) producing Sakura-Beer, which during the Taisho and early Showa eras was Japan’s third most popular beer and held 9% of the domestic market share. Sakura Beer was discontinued in 1942 due to some unpleasantness going on in the wider world at the time.
The brewery itself is only open on special occasions to tour but there is a museum in the union hall. Sakura Beer bottles, labels and beautiful old advertisements line the walls and a model of the old brewery give an idea to the scale on which it used to exist. A must-do is the VR experience as it is in English and explains a lot of beer history while also giving you a chance to virtual tour the closed off brewery. Since Sapporo owns the brand the upstairs has rooms with more general Sapporo Beer artifacts. The building itself is a little worn but a beautiful piece of work from its time with detailed doors, windows and ceilings. A Sakura blossom adorns the wooden banister as you head up stairs to remind you whose company this was. Personally I love old beer labels designs and especially the advertisements as it shows what appealed to people on a personal level at the time. That appeal of course, was and is, women and beer. Instead of models in bikinis its flappers and women in fine kimonos looking fancy as they hold up their beer bottles, as classy people are want to do.

Thankfully, the Sakura-Beer story doesn’t end with obscurity but has a happy present. In March 2019 local Mojiko craft brewer Mojiko Retro Beer received licensed Sakura Beer from Sapporo and have resumed its production at its birthplace using the original 1913 recipe and Taisho-era labeling. Once again girls in hakama and men in fancy hats can enjoy real Taisho beer waiting for their train at Mojiko Station. (There will be a separate article on Sakura Beer and drinking in the Meiji and Taisho eras later this summer.)

Final Thoughts for Visitors
If you want to start touring right away the only right place to begin is Mojiko Station, but if you want to get into the spirit of the era (and it’s between April and November), you’ll want to stop by the former Moji Customs House before heading to Mojiko Station. This is where Retro Nadeshiko rents haikara clothing for fashionable Taisho ladies and yukata for the men. Haikara or “high collar” refers to all that was modern and fashionable and at that time for women it was billowy hakama pants and kimono with the hair half-up and a parasol or oil-paper umbrella in hand. You’ll likely see women walking around the station dressed in this manner. When I visited last year I dressed up with my wife; the first time she wore kimono and I wore my personal Meiji era frock suit and the second time she dressed haikara and I came in a yukata and fedora. You’ll have to bring your own fedora. (You do own one, right?)

I usually stay at Mojiko Hotel when visiting Mojiko as it is comfortably, reasonably priced and centrally located near Mojiko Station. Mojiko is also a good jumping off point for historic exploration; just down the rail line is the Yawata Steel Works and across the strait is Shimonoseki. That can be reached by car, rail or taking the underwater pedestrian tunnel linking the two cities.

References
A really good website and resource that I used in writing this is Japan Heritage Kanmon Strait, which lays out a lot of information and shows places to see in both Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, which someday I’ll also write about. While I picked up a lot of background information from on-site signage and pamphlets, this website goes much further.
https://www.japanheritage-kannmon.jp/index.cfm?language001=en
https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1969/
Mojiko Station
http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/company/mojiko_sta/english/aisatu/index.html
Sakura Beer
https://mojibeer.ntf.ne.jp/sakurabeer/
http://www.brewers.or.jp/english/09-history.html
Nagasaki: The British Experience 1854-1945 by Brian Burke-Gaffney